Independent wrestlers Nicole Matthews and Artemis Spencer have been a couple since 2006.
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Nicole Matthews is comfortable kicking her husband.
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She is at home beating him with her variety of suplexes, eager to lock him up with her version of Lion Tamer’s submission control.
Matthews (real name: Lindsay Miller) is one of the best independent wrestlers on the Lower Mainland. Husband Artemis Spencer (real name: Dylan Miller) is another. He began training for the Squared Circle in 2006, joining a group of up-and-coming guys already featuring Spencer.
They dated shortly after that, and have been together ever since. They married in 2017. Along the way, they have become each other’s main sparring partners in the ring.
Matthews has enough experience and skill to routinely face men in singles matches.
In all these years in the world of scripted wrestling, bookmakers have seen Matthews and Spencer meet in singles matches only twice. That will become three times On Thursday at the Studio Nightclub on Granville Street, when they meet in the quarterfinals of the Nation Extreme Wrestling championship tournament.
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Spencer and Matthews don’t go out of their way to promote their connection in their wrestling lives, but they don’t sidestep it either, popping up frequently on each other’s social media. They say that the bookers and many fans are very clear about their union in real life.
“Whenever someone wants us to fight, they always say, ‘Is it going to be okay?’ It is funny. There’s no one I’ve spent more time in the ring with, ”explained Spencer, 35, a few weeks ago, hanging out in a practice ring at Lions Gate Dojo, the Surrey-based professional wrestling school where he and Matthews are among the head instructors.
“We have spent so many hours and hours together. There is nothing that feels more natural. “
They last wrestled on a Seattle show in 2018. When asked about it, Matthews said simply, “It was easy. He’s my number one sparring partner. “
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Matthew, 34, who is originally from Coquitlam, lists herself as a longtime wrestling fanatic. He considers Chris Jericho one of his first favorites; the lion tamer was one of his first signatures.
She was watching indie wrestling shows before she started stepping into the ring and got a chance to see Spencer in her early wrestling days. Originally from Maple Ridge, he made his independent industry debut in 2002.
Both have stood out. Matthews participated in WWE’s 2018 Mae Young Classic, which was televised on WWE Network and featured independent female wrestlers from around the world. She was eliminated in the second round with a loss to Tegan Nox, who ended up being a regular on the WWE roster for a time.
In 2019, Spencer landed a spot at the Battle of Los Angeles, which is a top-tier men’s independent tournament. Notable entrants throughout the years include AJ Styles, Bryan Danielson, Kenny Omega, and Kyle O’Reilly, a current WWE contender from North Delta who came through the ranks with Spencer.
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“I never thought I would get there,” Spencer said of the event, where he lost in the first round to Jonathan Gresham, who lost in the final. Then I got the email and it was crazy. It was incredible.”
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As close as they are to a place at the top of the professional wrestling ladder, neither Matthews nor Spencer seem interested in chasing him down. They prefer to keep it “a passion and not a job where there are obligations” to borrow a line from Matthews. That’s their shorthand way of saying they don’t want to be tied into a story with a bigger promotion that they can’t get out of or have to fight in a certain style.
Currently, they can also take time off at their discretion, which is something that could not happen if they were working for one of the larger companies.
They are content with having day jobs: Matthews works at a community center in Coquitlam, Spencer is a structural blacksmith. In fact, he made the rings at the Lions Gate Dojo.
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“We both like that we keep this as our hobby,” said Matthews. “When it’s a job, you can’t just have fun with it. Whatever party I have, I can do whatever I want. It’s not my job. It is my hobby. I can do what I like about wrestling. When you’re on television, you have a responsibility to someone. ”
Spencer said simply, “I love wrestling more than the glitz and glamor.”
They believe things are going in a positive direction for the local indie scene with NEW, which is the brainchild of Chris Parry, a former digital editor for The Vancouver Sun and The Province, who is the founder of the investment analysis website Equity Guru. , and Rob Fai, the former Vancouver Canadians’ play-by-play voice and late-night host on TSN 1040.
NEW had their first show on September 11. The shows have remained constant ever since. They are scheduled to have a show on January 15 at the Commodore Ballroom.
“I don’t know if that kind of production, focus and promotion (of shows) has ever taken place in Vancouver,” said Matthews. “I don’t know if any of us have seen us with that type of production.
“They seem to have a longer-term plan, and that’s something we haven’t had here in 20 years.”
Spencer added: “I would love for Vancouver to become one of the Super Indies, where people say, ‘I want to fight there. “
twitter: @SteveEwen
Reference-theprovince.com